My Studded Prince
by xxChibi-Kiwixx
Summary: Kouji has feelings for Kouichi that are stronger than brotherly. There's only one problem; Kouichi has a girlfriend! Will Kouji be able to win Kouichi's heart? Or did he always have his brother's heart..? KouxKou, dont like it dont read it
1. Confrontation

I do not own digimon, nor do i wish to really own it, i only wish to own those smexy twins.

Hahaha . Hello all. I decided one day to write a KouKou fanfic for no particular reason whatsoever. Though I don't like the pairing all that much (I'd rather have Kouichi all to myself ), I felt myself compelled to write it. I know its a LONG way after Frontier has been made, and the flame of Frontier fans have probably died out in many, but here is to all the Frontier fans who are still alive and kicking like I am.

Oh yea, this is going to be in a series of chapters, but i wanna see reviews before i make the second chapter. .

And this first chapter is in third person, but the rest will probably be in either Kouji or Kouichi's POV, not sure just yet. PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME IF YOU LIKE IT SO FAR, SO I'LL KNOW IF I SHOULD KEEP MAKING MORE CHAPTERS. Please and thank you!

--

As time passes, bonds grow stronger. The depth of one's emotions for another grow deeper. And in this special case, the bond between the Yin and Yang, of Light and Darkness, have become more than just a bond between opposing forces. No, this bond came in the form of two twins, the beloved Warriors of Light and Darkness, the Yin and Yang in the form of human flesh; Kouichi Kimura and Kouji Minamoto. It's been many years since they met in the Digital World, and they have changed just as much. They both felt as though the emptiness they had felt for so long had finally been filled. But as the years passed, it wasn't enough...

--

The faint sound of rustling bags caught Kouji's attention as he shifted his gaze from the television to the kitchen door to find twin brother sifting through a couple of large, brown bags. Having came to his house and realizing Kouichi was not home, Kouji had been sitting there watching T.V for about a half hour before Kouichi returned. The look of slight concern upon Kouichi's face as he rummaged through the bags made Kouji curious as to what he was looking for. Clicking the T.V remote to mute it, Kouji came to his feet and made his way over too the kitchen doorway.

"I thought I had it in here..." he heard Kouichi grumble to himself as he approached, still completely unaware of Kouji's presence. Of all times to be dense...

"Thought you had what?" Kouji asked as he came up to the doorway. Kouichi gasped and jumped back, a bit startled by Kouji's sudden appearance and appeared a bit flustered.

"Where did you come from?!" Kouichi asked with a surprised tone. Kouji chuckled and leaned upon the doorframe, noting in the back of his mind how cute his brother looked when he was flustered in such a manner. Cheeks slightly rosy, his deep blue eyes a bit widened, the way his lips parted ever so slightly to barely reveal his white teeth and the glistening hue of silver that came from the silver stud in his tongue peircing...the thought made him shiver for a breif moment before replying.

"I came by a little while ago and you weren't home," Kouji replied, shrugging casually. "Figured you went out for a while. Did you go grocery shopping?"

"No, I was taking a walk and found these on the side of the street," Kouichi said sarcastiacly as he delved back into digging around inside of the bags once more. "Yea, I went and did some errands for Mom and myself."

"Why so uptight?"

"I bought this thing...here it is!" The look of concern quickly vanished as he pulled out a smaller white plastic bag out of one of the brown bags and sighed with releif. "I thought I forgot to pick it up."

"What is it?"

"A little something for Ebi-chan for Valentine's in a couple weeks." Kouichi replied with a slight smile, placing the bag on the counter. Kouji's expression immediately soured at the mention of Kouichi's petname for his girlfriend of 9 months, Yuukiona. Kouji didn't like her very much for obvious reasons, but apparently Kouichi seemed to be willing to jump through hoops for the girl.

"What did you get her, something to cure that ugly thing called her face?" Kouji scowled, turning his gaze away from Kouichi.

"Be nice, please?" Kouichi pleaded, glancing to his younger twin before he began to put the groceries away. "Why is it that you're so sour towards her? She's never done anything to you..."

_Only take away the person I care about the most_, Kouji thought, but knew better than to say that.

"She's just...weird. I don't like her."

The statement seemed to grasp Kouichi's attention, and he stopped what he was doing and came over to the doorway where Kouji stood, leaning against the opposing doorframe across from him as he held a bundle of celery in his left hand, crossing his arms. "Define weird, Kouji, in your perspective."

The seriousness in Kouichi's voice caught him off gaurd, causing him to look back at his twin. Kouichi's eyes had darkened a bit with an ominous glow, his brow furrowed and lips drawn to a straight line. He could feel the shift, the stance of dominance as the eldest of them both that Kouichi was taking, which Kouji wasn't used to. Usually it was Kouichi who seemed like the more care-free, younger sibling, leaving Kouji the level-headed older sibling stereotype. Yet seeing the serious, almost "seme" like side of Kouichi every once in a while made him all the more enticing to Kouji. _Not like I could actually tell him that_, he thought as he rolled his eyes a bit.

"She doesn't even look like a normal person," Kouji replied, his brow furrowing as well. " She has white hair like come old hag, she's short, she has the most annoying voice because of her stupid accent, she's hyperactive and just overall odd. I mean, come on, the girl doesn't even have a chest. She's in second year of high school and she's still in B cups?"

"You aren't answering the question. You're only talking about physical attributes, and even there you are wrong." Kouichi paused for a moment before continuing. "She's from America, Kouji, and thats why she has an accent, and sure she may be shorter than us by a few inches and have slightly small breasts, but do you really think I give a shit about her breast size? I'm not looking to have sex with her, Kouji." His eyes seem to glance upward towards the ceiling as though he was entertaining the thought for a moment, then reached up to wipe his nose with his thumb. "But that's not the point. She has white hair because she's partially albino. She can't help that, and you know it. But don't you think it's the fact she is out of the ordinary that I like her? You know people think I'm "weird", and I admit my taste in some things differ from what's "in". Does that make me detestable to you too?" Kouichi turned his head to the side, revealing the two black and silver studs on his left upper earlobe.

"Of course not!" Kouji said in a surprisingly loud tone, almost shouting at him. Kouichi was far from detestable in his eyes! How could he say such a thing about himself? _Its the odd ticks and quirks you have that I love the most_, Kouji wanted to shout at him, but he feircely held his tongue.

"Then why do you hate Yuuki so much?" Kouichi came off of the doorframe and approached him slowly, reaching out and placing a gentle hand upon his brother's shoulder, who only shrugged it away. Kouichi recoiled, but stood firmly in front of Kouji.

"You're holding back on me, Kouji. I can feel it. There's a reason for your spite towards Yuuki..." Kouichi said softly, his tone the complete opposite of what it was just moments ago. " Why are you hiding it from me?"

"You wouldn't understand..." Kouji finallly spoke, cutting his eyes away for a moment. _There is no way he could understand my feelings for him are more than brotherly... he would think I'm sick for even entertaining the thought, perverted even! It would have been one thing if he wasn't my brother..._

"How could I not understand? We're brothers, aren't we? We have a connection. When you ache, I ache. When you are in pain, I'm in pain. I know you're lying to me about these excuses for hating her. Just tell me the truth."

"You really want to know?" Kouji said, almost challenging him.

"Yes." Kouichi replied, not picking up on the ominous tone in Kouji's voice. Kouji looked back at Kouichi, feeling his heart begin to pound inside his chest. _This was it, now or never_, Kouji thought to himself. But he never thought finally speaking out would make him feel so lightheaded and out of it. There was several moments of silence between the two as the stared at one another, one anticipating the other's action.


	2. Kiss in the Second Degree

Hello again, everyone! It's the second chapter of My Studded Prince! Will Kouji fess up to his feelings or make up some lie and get out of it? This chapter is going to be in Kouji's POV, but I will warn you the POV will switch between several character often. This is going to be many chapters long, so don't even think we have just begun! Mwahahahaha!!

And to clarify the whole albino thing, I have an unhealthy obsession with characters with white hair. Therfore she has white hair. Don't judge me! It's my world here, I can do whatever I want. And thanks for the reviews, I got my friend to look this over before I published it. PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME IF YOU LIKE IT, SO I'LL KNOW IF I SHOULD MAKE MORE CHAPTERS! I'm not going to write about something people don't like.

--

Kouji's POV

I stood before my older twin, feeling as though there was a heavy spotlight upon me. I tried to clear my throat to aleviate the lump that was forming there, but it made very little difference. My mind was racing, trying to find the right words to say, the right things to do, so that if this didn't turn out the way I wished it to, Kouichi wouldn't think of me any differently for harboring these feelings. How long have I had these feelings for him? I started to feel this way around him last year, our 1st year in high school, before he even met Yuuki, probably around the time of our class backpacking trip...

_"It's boiling hot out here!" Takuya groaned as he collapsed in a heap, his backpack rolling off of his shoulders and falling to the ground with a loud thump. I couldn't blame him; it wasn't even noon and it already felt as though we were being baked alive._

_"And it's only the second day," I gasped as I fell to the ground in the same manner as Takuya, strands of my black hair stuck to my forehead in light perspiration. My throat felt dry, and my leg muscles ached. I excercised daily, but going up hill for hours at a time would knock the wind out of anyone. "Imagine what the rest of the week will be like."_

_"Don't remind me!" Takuya groaned once more has he laid back against his bulging backpack, his left hand groping the side pockets to find his canteen bottle of water. "What kind of inishiation is this?! 12 miles a day, dragging around heavy backpacks and no showers? I don't care if 1st years have to do this trip, it's more like cruel and unusual punishment." _

_"Amen." I reached up and wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. A moment later Kouichi appeared, throwing down his pack beside mine and sitting on top of it, wiping his face with his shirt and huffed._

_"How far have we gone?" He asked hoarsely, looking at me with a hopeful glint in his eye._

_"Not very far...only about 3 miles since we all left."_

_"You got to be kidding me!" He laughed dryly, yet the hopeful glint soon faded from his deep, blue eyes. "It seems like we've been walking for hours."_

_"Just three more days..." I shrugged, attempting to get back to my feet to remove my jacket, but fell back abruptly onto my pack as a wave of dizziness over came me. I groaned softly as I reached up and held my forehead in my hand._

_"You ok, Kouji?" Kouichi asked, his voice immediately shifting into a concerned tone and placed a hand upon my shoulder. I looked at him and gave him a weak nod._

_"Yea, just got dizzy for a minute..." I replied._

_"How much water have you drank since we all left camp this morning?" Takuya asked after taking a large gulp of water from his canteen._

_"Not much..."_

_"That's your problem, you were supposed to have drank half of your canteen by now," Kouichi turned away and fumbled for his own canteen in one of his pack's side pockets._

_"I'm fine," I said, not wanting to make a big deal out of all of it, but in moments Kouichi held out his canteen to me and looked at me with a kind smile._

_"You'll get dehydrated if you don't drink enough water, Kouji." he said, almost in a gentle tone. I looked at the canteen bottle and then at him, and I couldn't help but smile. It's always like Kouichi to look out for me, but lately when he looked at me or spoke to me like that, I felt butterflies in my stomach, a feeling I never felt before... _

_"Thanks.." I said softly, taking the canteen from him and twisting the cap and brought it to my lips. A shutter ran down by backside as the water splashed upon my dry throat, aching for several moments then at last quenching my thirst. Unfortunately, I didn't realize until afterwards that I had finished up all the water left in his canteen._

_"You must have been thirsty, huh?" Kouichi chuckled as he took it back and placed it back inside it's respective pocket._

_"Nice one, Kouji." Takuya teased me._

_"I didn't mean to drink all of it, I'm sorry.." I felt guilty, because it was going to be a good while before our group was going to stop again to find more water._

_"It's fine, I brought two canteens with me." Kouichi replied with a reasurring nod, holding up his second, filled to the brim canteen bottle. I felt releived and laid back upon my pack, my eyes slowly drawing to a close as I sighed._

_"You know," I heard Takuya say as he twisted his cap back on the canteen. "When you share a drink with someone, your technically kissing that person in a secondary sense."_

_"What??" Kouichi replied in a flustered tone. I opened one eye and flung a rock in Takuya's direction, hitting him in the shoulder._

_"You say that, when you've shared your drinks with Izumi many a time." I shot back casually._

_"That's different though! And you didn't have to hit me that hard, Geez!"_

_"How is it different? Last time I checked, she wasn't your girlfriend."_

_There was a moment of silence before Kouichi snickered. I opened my eyes and saw that Takuya's face had turned a bit red, and reached into his pack and threw a wad of dirty socks at Kouichi's face, who ducked just in time to land on the ground._

_"Nice one." I chuckled as I looked at Kouichi._

_"I try." He laughed as he reached back and grabbed the projectile and threw it back at Takuya. "We should get going."_

_"Yea yea yea." Takuya grumbled as he stuffed his socks back into his pack. As we began our hike again, I couldn't help but think about what Takuya said. _

_Kissing Kouichi, huh? I thought to myself. I wonder what that would really be like..._

"I thought spacing out was my thing." I heard Kouichi say, which brought me back into reality. I blinked and shook my head a bit.

"Sorry about that." I apologized. He chuckled lightly and flicked my nose playfully. "What was that for??"

"You're getting off topic, Kouji. Now tell me why you don't like Yuuki, I do have chores I have to do before Mom gets home."

"Oh..." Wonderful. Why couldn't I have just kept my mouth shut and kept my opinion to myself? I knew Kouichi wasn't going to let me get away without saying something, and I doubted I could get away with a lie. I felt the imminent time drawing near. I had to do it now. Now was the moment I had been waiting for for so long. I only wished it could have came sooner..

Drawing in a deep breath, I closed my eyes for a moment before speaking. _I only wish if this goes wrong that you still love me as a brother, Kouichi, if nothing else..._

"You want to know why I hate Yuuki?" I said, slowly pulling my hands out of my dark grey jacket pockets and looked up at him. I felt a breif moment of hesitation as I parted my lips to speak again, and no words came out. _Why can't I say anything??_ He thought.

"Yes. And be honest, please." Kouichi replied solemnly, tilting his head to the side slightly with a slight smile. _Don't do that! That only makes it so much harder for me_, I wanted to whine. _If I can't say it...I guess that leaves only one other option._

Before I could even make sense of what I was doing I found my left palm upon the back of Kouichi's bare neck and my lips pressed gently against his own. I was just about as shocked as Kouichi was, but only to the fact that his lips were softer than I had imagined, so warm and inviting. I heard the sound of the celery he held in his hand fall to his feet with a loud "thump", and a small utterance of surprise escaping his lips into mine. My hand trailed down the back of his neck, relishing the feeling of his skin upon my fingertips. But once I realized how tense he was, I reluctantly pulled away and took my hand away, looking at his face. His eyes were wide and his cheeks were almost as red as the tomatoes that sat upon the counter. His expression was a mixture of shock and confusion. I didn't understand why I felt disappointed, for it was the expression I had expected. With a sigh, I stuffed my hands back into my jacket pockets.

"That is why I hate her." I finally spoke, breaking the deafening silence that seemed to loom above our heads. Without waiting for his response, I left him standing at the counter and walked out the door, not wanting to bear to hear what he had to say.


	3. An Oh Shit Moment

Woosh, its the third chapter! Kouji left Kouichi in a total stupor, huh? How does Kouichi feel about all of this? We have only just begun this tale of a complicated love triangle... this chapter will be in Kouichi's POV.

Mmmm...I like cake...oh yeah, the story. xSweatdropx

I thank Evide for their help in the reviews! A little constructive criticism can't hurt, eh? Just as long as people can understand the stuff I put down coming from this screwed up, a mile a minute imagination of mine, I'm happy. Keep the reviews coming!

Oh yes, we finally get to meet Yuukiona in this chapter! Weeee! (She reminds me of my old ice angel rp character...any who!) And we also get to meet Kyuuketsuki (Just call her Kyuu), Yuuki's best friend. A small factoid: They are both from America, but they adapted Japanese names just as many foreigners adapt American names to make it easier for the natives (i.e, Mister Jo-Hung over there might just call himself Joe.) Yuuki's real name is Cassie and Kyuu's name is Paige.

--

Kouichi's POV

_His words repeated themselves over and over again in my mind, almost as if they were taunting me..._

_"That is why I hate her." _

_"That is why I hate her."_

_That's why he has hated her...? How long has he felt this way..? Why didn't he tell me sooner...?_

_"...K-Kouji!" I managed to choke out several moments later, but the slam of the front door indicated that he had already left, and didn't wish to hear me out. I found it difficult to come to grips with what had just happened moments ago. I couldn't bring myself to push him away when he kissed me.That very kiss was the reminder of the past, or at least, my past feelings that I thought had faded away with time, and with Yuuki's affection. I guess I was wrong..._

"You alright, Chi-Chi?" A familiar voice invaded my train of thought, propelling me out of my own little world and into reality. Where was I just now? Oh yes, the school bleachers...school was dismissed about a half hour ago, but I never really left school until about 5 o'clock every day because I used that time to hang out with friends around campus before taking that half hour walk back home. Usually Kouji would be with me, but I had not seen him for several days since that incident..._was he avoiding me_?

The voice belonged to none other than Kyuu, the red-headed 3rd year girl that was a close friend of Yuuki's. She stood before me, head tilted with a hand on her hip, a small frown upon her facial features. Her hair color was unusual, just as Yuuki's was, only Kyuu's hair was a bold, crimson hue.

"Yea, I'm fine." I replied as I stuffed my hands into my black jacket's pockets.

"Don't seem like it." She said, reaching out and ruffling my chin length black hair with her fingertips. I frowned a bit and gently pushed her hand away.

"Sorry...but I'm not in a playful mood right now."

"Then spill." She threw her backpack off to the side, not caring where it landed and sat down beside me. "You've been acting down lately, and I'm not the only one who's noticed."

"...Have I been worrying Yuuki?" I asked solemnly. I had not once thought about how I was acting. I was too overwhelmed by the millions of questions I had in my head, trying to make sense of it all. The image of seeing Yuuki watch me pass her by without saying so much as hello made me cringe with guilt. It wasn't easy to deal with; I had very strong feelings for her, and it was only recently I began to contemplate whether I could muster up the courage to say "I love you."

"Kind of..." Kyuu replied as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of folded up notebook paper and handed it to me. "It's a note she and I wrote during History class today. You might want to take a look at it."

_I really don't want to read it right now,_ I thought to myself, dreading to see how badly my behavior had been affecting her.

"Do I have to read it now?"

"You can wait 'till later if you want."

"Okay." I wanted to sigh with releif, but held back the urge as I stuffed it into my pocket to save for later. "Where is she now, do you think?"

"In the art room, most likely. Which reminds me, do you mind taking her home for me? I need to leave a little early to babysit, and I usually drive her home."

"No problem." I pushed myself onto my feet and began to walk down the steps of the bleachers.

"Hey Kouichi," Kyuu called after me in a teasing tone, making me look over my shoulder to look at her as she fumbled to get her backpack that was wedged between two seats. "Don't choke her with your tongue piercing this time, ok?"

I rolled my eyes but quickly turned away as my cheeks grew red. I couldn't help that the stud came out! "Very funny."

"What, it almost happened once!"

"It was an accident!"

" It must have been some hot make-out session to have the stud come out, huh Mister "I Can Tie Cherry Stems In a Knot With My Tongue"?"

"...Goodbye, Kyuu." I left the gym thoroughly embarrassed, and made a mental note to ask Yuuki not to share such private details with her best friend.

--

"**In my feild of paper flowers,**

**and candy clouds of lullaby...**

**I lie inside myself for hours**

**and watch my purple sky fly over me..."**

"Guess who." I whispered rather cheerfully into Yuuki's ear when I came up behind her as she was painting and plucked one of her ear-buds out from her ear, causing her to cease her singing. She turned her head to face me, to which I promptly placed a kiss upon her forehead. I had to make up for lost time and somehow receive the blessing of her forgiveness, which I knew wasn't going to be easy.

"You decide now to acknowledge me?" Yuuki replied rather coldly, her snowy white hair brushing against my cheek as she turned back to face her artwork. Though I expected that sort of response, I didn't expect for it to hurt so much. She was a very sweet girl, but she had a nasty mean side I had only seen her show towards people she despised. I never expected she would turn such harsh words onto me as well, but at the current time I was guilty as charged.

"...I guess I deserved that."

"Well excuse me for not rushing into your arms."

"Yuuki..." I muttered softly. She must have picked up on the hint of sadness in my voice, for she had mashed the pause button on her ipod and looked up at me. "I know I may deserve your spite...but may I ask for your forgiveness? I truly am sorry for the grief I've probably caused for you..." I pulled out one of the stools from under the table and sat down close beside her, taking a few moments to think about what I should say. I couldn't tell her about Kouji kissing me and how there was a possibility that I might have enjoyed it. Not only would I be in deep water, but Kouji would definitely be on the top of her hit list. But at the same time, I didn't want to lie to her. Perhaps I could somehow skate around the details?

"...I've had a little family trouble lately," I began, figuring that as long as I said just enough so that it wasn't either the truth or a lie, my conscience would be clear. "You know how that is...I found out something and I'm not sure whether I like that something or not."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, her tone of voice softening a bit. _I only wish I could,_ I thought to myself.

"I'd rather not..." I replied, shifting my gaze away from hers to my almost worn out black converses. "But I'm really sorry I've been out of it the past few days...I shouldn't have blown you off. I just hope you can forgive me."

Yuuki stared at me for several moments with her sapphire blue eyes, searching my face as though she was trying to confirm my sincerity. She at last heaved a sigh and reached up to pluck the second ear-bud out of her ear, then leaned over slightly to wrap her arms around my waist firmly and lay her head on my shoulder.

"It's fine..." She said softly. "I was worried about you, Kouichi... I thought I might have angered you somehow..."

"It has nothing to do with you." I hugged her back gently, laying my head atop hers as I sighed softly. _Well, she bought it,_ I thought to myself._ At least for now...but right now I'm just glad she's forgiven me._I reached up and attempted to brush a lock of her hair away from my face, but found my fingers covered in blue paint. To my surpise, I looked down and saw a blue smear across her jawline. There had been a dot of blue paint on her face, and I just made it worse by smearing it across her face. "Little Ebi, you have paint on your face."

"I do?" Yuuki lifted her head from off her shoulder and reached up to touch her jawline,and then at my fingers. "You smeared it on my face!"

"I did not, it was already there!"

"Well then," She reached behind her and dabbed her index finger in some green paint and smeared it along my right cheek. "Now you have paint on _your _face."

"Well," I sneered, running my blue tipped finger along her forearm. "You've got a bit on your arm." She gasped a bit, then looked at me with an evil glint in her eye.

"This means war." Yuuki growled playfully as she tipped her fingers into the yellow and green paints and made for my face, but I caught her wrist and tried to wrestle her away. We both laughed as we "fought", up until I fell backwards out of my chair and landed on the floor, and with a squeal she came tumbling down on top of me. She landed on top of me and knocked the wind out of me, her paint covered hand pressing down upon my black jacket. She gasped for real this time, her face turning red.

"..It's fine." I chuckled dryly, still trying to catch my breath. "It'll come out when I wash it."

"Okay.." After a few seconds of silence, we both started to laugh. Those few moments of bliss, I had forgotten all about my troubles with Kouji.

"That was fun." I managed to say after our laughter had died down.

"Yea, it was, huh?" She replied as she smiled at me, and then leaned forward and kissed me. As her lips made contact with mine, I was immediately reminded of my plight, and though I tried to return the gesture, my mind was elsewhere. There was something different this time, about her kiss. It had something missing...

"You two having fun?" An all too familiar voice said in a cold tone. I immediately drew back from her, my eyes widened and face red. I knew that voice, how could I not know that voice...?

I was unaware that a third person was present on the opposite side of the large room the whole time. I was so wrapped up in apologizing to Yuuki that I didn't realize that on the other side of the room, they had both heard and seen everything. On the opposite side of the room, with a charcoal project before them, sat Kouji.

God, do you hate me?

--

Whoo! The end of the third chapter, with the fourth coming soon!

That was a total "Oh shit" moment. Mwahaha!

Oh, and before I forget, the pet name Kouichi calls Yuuki, which is Ebi, means "shrimp." He calls her that because she's a bit short.


	4. Mixed Feelings

It's the fourth chapter already! Woot! I'm really in the zone this week! lol

It's been alot of fun making these, too. And it's alot of fun watching people point out the odd quirks I embedded in my characters. Such as the weird nickname that Kouichi calls Yuuki. (Thank you so much for pointing that out, yue-chan, I was wondering if anyone would be like "What the hell is Kouichi's problem?!") It seems as though creating nicknames are not one of Kouichi's strongest points... xSweatdropx But though he may suck at it, he calls her "Ebi" in an affectionate way. A little bit of playful teasing, if you will. I didn't come up with Ebi right off the top of my head...unfortunately along with Chibi, Ebi is one of my own nicknames. I'm not that short! I'm just...vertically challenged...!!

But forgive me, this chapter is a bit short.

--

Kouji's POV

I never really liked art class, to be perfectly honest. I've always found it hard to "think outside the box" and come up with interesting themes or ideas to use for projects. However, I needed that art credit to be able to graduate, so I didn't have much of a choice. I had been lagging behind in class lately on our recent project, and decided to come in yesterday after school to catch up.

But of all days to come into the art classroom, why did that have to happen when I was present?

It was bad enough that Kouichi and I had not talked since last week, but to see him so focused on Yuuki in that moment that he couldn't even acknowledge my presence only made it worse. What was so great about her, anyways? So she's foreign. Big deal. She's pretty much the best artist in all the 2nd year class. Anyone could slap paint on a board and call it art...

_" But don't you think it's the fact that she's out of the ordinary that I like her?" _

Perhaps that was it...she was unique, both physically and mentally. She had talents, she had brains, she had creativity...what did I have? I surely am not an artist, my grades are average, and my overall appearance was that out of the ordinary, either...

Am I just too average?

These were the thoughts that were going through my mind when I found myself stranded at the bus stop in the middle of a rain shower the following day. I had left the house unprepared, and was standing there without an umbrella as the raindrops soaked into my clothing and hair, running down the sides of my face. Several loose strands of my hair had came loose from my hair tie and were hanging down in my face, wet and plastered to my forehead. I didn't mind the rain that much, but I would rather be warm and on the bus than cold out in the rain any day.

After standing there for a while, mulling over my thoughts, I released a sigh of utter frustration as I smoothed the loose strands of my hair on my forehead back. This was the exact thing I was afraid of when Kouichi forced the truth out of me. Ever since that say, we acted so distant from each other that it was almost too painful to bear. I felt empty, lonely without his presence. I didn't care if he didn't love me as I did him, I only wished that he would love me as a brother still, if nothing else.

_I would give anything to turn back time and take back that kiss_, I thought to myself, feeling a cold shutter run down my spine, my eyes beginning to sting a bit. I tried to resist this sensation, but the loneliness that weighed heavy on my shoulders was getting to be too much to bear. I could feel my eyes begin to water, a tightness growing inside my chest. _I want my brother back...I can't stand it. I was so selfish, thinking only of my feelings...who am I to think he felt the same for me? He loves Yuuki, and though I hate to admit it, she seems to make him happy...damn, I don't want to cry out in the open._

I reached up and wiped my eyes casually with my sleeve. As I did so, a thought crossed my mind; _What if I can pretend it didn't happen?_

At first I thought it was a stupid idea, but the more I entertained the thought, the better it became. What better way to solve it by pretending it never happened? It seemed as though Kouichi was acting that way. Maybe if I did the same, things would go back to the way they were before. After all, Kouichi didn't have the same feelings for me, right?

For the first time in many days, a small smile formed upon my face. I turned away from the bus stop to look down the street, in the direction of where Kouichi lived, which wasn't that far away. I could survive walking a couple blocks in the rain if it meant I could see him again.

--

"My goodness, Kouji, you're soaking wet!" My mother gasped when she had answered her ringing doorbell. "What were you doing out in the rain without an umbrella? You could be ill."

"I'm fine, really." I chuckled softly at her concern, but I appreciated it nonetheless. I began to take my shoes off at the door, cautious not to get her or Kouichi's shoes wet in the process.

"Here's a towel, dear. And take off your socks, too." She instructed me as she draped a soft yellow towel around my shoulders. I smiled and hugged the towel around my body, shuttering as my wet clothing touched my skin as I took off my socks and stuffed them inside my shoes.

"Kouji?" I heard Kouichi's surprised voice say, and I looked up and saw him standing by the kitchen table, holding a white laundry basket in his hands filled with his clean, folded clothing. He looked surprised by my abrupt arrival, but I expected as much.

"Hey Kouichi," I replied, offering a small smile.

"Kouichi, dear, do you think you could let him borrow some dry clothes?" Mother asked.

"...Sure." Kouichi made a motion with his hand for me to follow him before he turned away to head towards his room. I thanked my mother before following after Kouichi, entering into his room and gently closing the door behind me. His room was unusually clean as always, unlike my own, and smelled of "fresh rain" fa-breeze, just as every room in his house did. He set the laundy basket upon his bed and began to pull out clothes from inside.

"Pick whatever you like while I put the others away." He said, refusing to meet my gaze. I frowned a bit, but I should have known he was going to be a bit wary after what's happened. _He must be afraid he hurt my feelings yesterday, _I thought. Instead of picking clothes to change into, I instead began to help him put his clothes away. He looked at me with a puzzled expression as I did so. I wasn't one who jumped at the chance of doing chores.

"What, I can't help you put your clothes away?" I chuckled as I closed his drawer containing some shirts.

"No..." He replied, a small smile perking in the corner of his mouth. "But you're putting them in the wrong place."

"..My bad." I turned back to the dresser and reopened the drawer, taking back the shirts I had just put there. I took one of the shirts and set it off to the side, planning to change into it later.

"Hey, Kouji..."

"Hm?"

Kouichi came up to me and took the shirts out of my hands, looking at me.

"I'm sorry about yesterday..." He said softly, a pained look upon his face.

"Tch, it's nothing to worry about, bro." I shrugged, and then proceeded to unzip my wet jacket and tossing it into the now empty laundry basket. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter anymore?" He sounded unconvinced, and I didn't have to look at his face to know such. I simply began to peel off the blue shirt I had been wearing and toss it into the basket as well. A cold shiver followed from the cool air brushing against my damp skin.

"Just what I said," I quickly put on the green T-shirt I had chosen, which seemed like a sweet releif after being in wet clothes for quite some time. Kouichi didn't respond, but I quickly decided to change the subject. "Do you have some pants I could borrow for a while?"

"...Bottom drawer." He replied monophonically and walked off elsewhere in his room. As I bent down to check the lower drawer, I felt a bit uneasy about how he had answered my question so monotone. I was doing my best to keep _inappropriate_ thoughts from coming to mind, but being in a room, his room no less, alone with the door closed was making it difficult. I had expected him to be a bit more lighthearted after telling him not to worry about the other day, but I had gotten the completely opposite result. Why was he making this so difficult? What is he thinking inside that head of his?


	5. The Truth Comes Out

xJigs to Tokyo Driftx Hello readers, to chapter 5 of My Studded Prince! I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am. Why don't we figure out what the heck is going on in Ichi's head, eh?

--

Kouichi's POV

I couldn't help but feel irritated as Kouji brushed me off. He knew just as well as I did that I had basically gave him a slap in the face yesterday, making him watch me and Yuuki, but he was acting as though it didn't matter to him. _Like he had never admitted his feelings to me._

You can't change something like that, no matter what you do. Feelings of love for someone just don't vanish. But who am I to tell him that? I would only end up being a hypocrite.

"How are these?" Kouji asked, turning around to look at me. I looked his form up and down quickly, seeing him in one of my green T-shirts and black gym shorts. I only shrugged, turning away and heading for my door.

"Where are you going?" He called after me.

"Bathroom." I replied bluntly, not bothering to turn my head as I opened the door and closed it behind me. I did go to the bathroom, though Nature's Call was not my reasoning for picking that destination. I just wanted to be alone for a little bit, a few minutes to myself to think things through. What better place to go than the bathroom?

I entered the small, white tiled room and gently closed the door behind me, flipping the silver lock into the locked position. The smell of Lysol lingered in the air, and I concluded that Mother must have cleaned the bathroom not too long ago. I sat down upon the porcelain seat, lid closed, and held my head in my hands, a long sigh escaping my lips.

The dilemma; I have a girlfriend I love, yet my brother who I also love has confessed romantic feelings for me. So what was the problem? How come I couldn't get over the fact that Kouji confessed such feelings to me? One would think it would be simple, just to disregard his feelings and pretend it never happened. I wanted to do that, I truly did, and let things turn back to the way it was before, and just live happily ever after with Yuukiona. There was only one problem.

I loved him too.

Romantically.

I had felt romantic feelings for Kouji for a very long time, long before I met Yuuki. I found myself at times thinking of what it would be like have him. I tried to somehow gather the courage to tell him so. But I never could. In this world, it is considered wrong for a brother to love his own brother, let alone his own twin! Surely Kouji would deny me! It was hard enough to admit to him three years ago that I was bisexual, having had a relationship with a guy named Hiro. But to admit to him that I loved him? That was outrageous!

So I figured I needed to forget about my feelings. If I could somehow channel those feelings into someone else, my problems would be over with. And who did I choose to use in this process?

Yuuki.

At first I felt dirty every time I held her, thinking to myself _you're only using her_. I knew all too well after my experience with Duskmon how it felt to be used, and I absolutely despised doing the same to an innocent, sweet girl like Yuuki. But it was either try to forget about Kouji or suffer a lifetime of pain watching him with someone else. I had the right to happiness too, right..?

But eventually my feelings for Kouji began to fade away, or so I thought, within the first three or four months with Yuuki. She was such a nice, cute girl, with a bit of an attitude. I always teased her about her height, but she knew I had nothing but good intentions. It was hard to make her angry, and it wasn't until yesterday that I truly made her angry. But she had every right to be. She had so many good characteristics that I loved in a person. At times she even reminded me of Kouji. Overall, she just seemed perfect to me, and everything with her was beginning to go so well...

Until that kiss.

That kiss was a reminder of what I had tried to forget. And though I didn't want to admit it to myself, I enjoyed that kiss, though it was brief. The shock I felt as his lips touched my own was paralyzing. I wasn't shocked about the fact he was kissing me as much as it was that it was so powerful, yet gentle at the same time. _Just as I always pictured his kiss would be..._

_Snap out of it!_I screamed at myself in my head and biting down on my tongue, feeling the cool metal of my piercing upon the roof of my mouth. I can't think of such things, I can't! Yuuki is my girlfriend...

_But you love Kouji. _

_But I love Yuuki, too! Kouji was in the past!_

_You keep telling yourself that, but do you truly believe that with all your heart?_

It was my head against my heart, conscience against conscience. This same argument had been going on in my head non-stop for the past week, and had clouded all my senses, pushing me away from reality. I knew I had to make a decision. It wasn't fair to either of them to toss their feelings about like playthings. It may sound ridicuous, but at this time I felt no better than Cherubimon himself. I had to choose one or the other.

And judging by Kouji's sudden detatchment from the subject, I was running out of time.

--

I returned to my room, and found Kouji had pulled out my Gamecube and started a game of Super Smash Brothers Melee. As the door closed behind me, his attention turned from the blinking screen to me, and he smiled immediately.

"You get lost or something?" He asked.

"Yea, sure." I rolled my eyes, but smiled a bit at his joke.

"I've been waiting for you. Come play this with me, it's boring with this lame computer.

"All right." I replied, figuring it might help relieve the frustration I had been building up and sat down beside him on the bed, grabbing the second controller. "But be forewarned that I'm going to own your ass."

"We'll see about that." He smirked, and began a new match. We both chose our usual characters, his being Link and mine being Marth. And with that, the fierce battle began. I usually had the upper hand when we played this game, but instead of helping clear my head as I had hoped, I was constantly distracted with wayward thoughts, and ended up somehow flying of the stage and dying. After about the fifth match, I had stopped pressing buttons on my controller altogether.

"You know, Kouichi, this would be alot more fun if you were actually pressing buttons." Kouji said, his tone a bit irritated. I sighed, my thumb mashing upon the pause button.

"Kouji," I said, turning to face him. He looked a bit confused, but placed his controller off to the side.

"What's wrong with you today?" He asked me, his brow furrowing. "You've been off with me since I walked through the door."

"What's wrong with _you_?!" I said, my tone of voice being louder than I had anticipated. Kouji blinked in surprise, caught off guard by my loud tone, yet I continued nonetheless. "You're sitting here laughing and smiling, acting as though you have no care in the world, when I've been worrying my ass of the past week. Did that kiss not mean anything to you?"

Kouji stared at me for a long time, his midnight blue eyes searching my face. I felt a lump begin to form in my throat, but before I could apologize his expression shifted from that of surprise to total seriousness, his eyes drilling into my own, it seemed.

"I don't ever do anything I don't mean, Kouichi." He said in a stern tone. "Ever." His gaze slowly trailed downward a bit, pausing for several moments before looking at me again. "Just as I mean to do this."

He abruptly grasped the back of my neck and kissed me. My eyes widened, that same shocking sensation rippling down my spine. Before I could get a grip on my actions, I found myself returning the kiss. Kouji seemed to hesitate a moment, as though not expecting me to kiss him back, but he quickly recovered. My heart rate quickened, my shoulders quivered as we kissed. I knew I had to stop, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It was so enticing, so delicious, so forbidden... I felt my eyes slowly draw to a close, giving in to this Forbidden Fruit. His fingertips slowly teased the hairs upon the back of my neck and I felt his tongue brush ever so gently against my lower lip. I was tempted to grant him access until I realized what I was doing. My eyes shot open and I pushed him away.

"I-I can't do this...!" I stuttered, almost knocking my controller to the floor in the process of pushing him away. Kouji was taken aback by the push.

"Why not?" He asked, his tone surprisingly soft.

"I have a girlfriend, Kouji!"

"That didn't bother you when you were kissing me back!"

"I didn't mean to..!"

"Who's the hypocrite now?!"

"Don't call me a hypocrite!" I cried, burying my head in my hands. It was bad enough to call myself a hypocrite, but to hear it coming from him was the sharpest of all daggars. I began to tremble, feeling my eyes beginning to grow a little misty. There was a silence for several moments until I felt the faintest touch of his hand upon my shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Kouichi..." he said softly. "I went out of line with that one..."

"But it's so true..." I whispered, not sure if Kouji would be able to hear me or not. "It's so true..."

"It's not true, Kouichi, you aren't a hypocrite..."

"I am, Kouji, in more ways than you think..."

"What makes you say that?"

"It's none of your business..."

"You're my brother, dammit!" He growled, jerking one of my hands away and holding me by the wrist. I looked up at him and saw the seriousness upon his face again. "My feelings aside, you are my brother no matter what, no matter who you love. Like you told me before, when you are in pain, I'm in pain, I feel everything you feel. And this time _you're _the one holding back on me. It's your turn to share. So spill."

I stared at him in utter amazement, mostly because he was right. I had told him that not just a week ago, when I made him reveal his own romantic feelings for me. I never would have guessed Kouji would be doing the same for me not a week later. After a few moments, Kouji's expression faded into that of a small , pained frown.

"Please, Kouichi..." He pleaded, slowly loosening his grip on my wrist. "Ever since I kissed you that day its like our bond has been weakened, if not broken. We don't act like brothers anymore...we act like awkward exs or something. I hate that feeling...and to be perfectly honest..." He released his grip, his gaze shifting towards the blinking television screen. "I wish I could take it all back."

"...Why...?" I asked softly, not thinking of much else to say.

"Because it's obvious you don't feel the same for me. All I want is for us to be brothers again...like it was before..."

"I never said I didn't feel the same..." I murmured under my breath, but Kouji heard me and turned his head sharply to look back at me.

"What?"

"Nothing..."

"No, what did you say?"

I sighed softly, lifting my head to look him in the eye. After all this time, now I finally had my chance. My only regret was that it had not come sooner.

"I said I never said I didn't feel the same." I repeated.

"When you say that... do you mean-"

"It means I love you too, what else could it mean?"

Kouji stared blankly at me, as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. I swallowed the lump that had been forming in my throat and continued to speak.

"...I've loved you for a long time, Kouji, long before I met Yuuki. I was afraid you didn't feel the same. I had somewhat hoped when I told you I was bi that you would have gotten some sort of hint, but that obviously didn't register in your head. But...I also love Yuuki. I love her very much..."

Kouji's lip quivered several times as though he was about to say something, looking back towards the flashing TV screen.

"...So what do you plan to do?" He asked me.

"...I don't know..." I replied honestly, holding my head in my hands. I felt as though the whole world was on my shoulders, and I was being crushed under it's weight. The pressure was suffocating, painful to bear. At that moment I only wanted to break down and cry. I was close to doing it too, until Kouji again touched my shoulder, then ran his fingertips through my hair gently.

"Kouichi..." He said, finally breaking the silence. "...I'm not going to pressure you doing something you don't want to do. But just know this. No matter what happens, no matter who you choose...I'll always be your brother, and support you no matter what, ok...?"

I lifted my head up slowly, looking at him. His words were both painful and comforting at the same time. Painful because his tone was so sad, and comforting because I knew he would stand by me, no matter who I chose. I didn't say a word, only reached out and hugged him tightly, burying my face into his shoulder. He returned the hug gently, stroking my back comfortingly.

This was only the beginning of our struggle, and we both knew it.

--

BUMBUMBUMMM!!

What a touching way to end a chapter, hm?

But we are far from over, people, oh no!

See you at chapter 6 ! Mwahahahahahaaa!!


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